A chain reaction crash inside the New York-bound center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel shortly before 8:30 yesterday morning in Weehawken caused a traffic nightmare.

The center tube was reopened at 12:15 p.m., but it took several hours for the backup to clear. To add the day's traffic woes, a bus broke down in the Jersey-bound north tube of the tunnel at 11:17 a.m. and was towed at 11:33 a.m., Port Authority officials said.

Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo said the accident occurred when a red BMW sped into the tunnel and collided with a Mercedes minivan, which then struck a minibus.

A passenger in the Mercedes minivan went into cardiac arrest and was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, where he died a few hours later. He was a 49-year-old from Summit, according to Pentangelo.

There were two additional minor injuries; these patients were taken to Bellevue Hospital, also in New York, he said.

In the meantime, traffic choked Route 495, from the mouth of the tunnel in Weehawken to the Turnpike. Streets near the tunnel also became clogged with vehicles.

New York-bound traffic was shifted entirely to the south tube.

With the center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel closed, Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz said there was "bumper-to-bumper traffic on local streets."